


Set The Fire To The Third Bar

by TiredUngulate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, May rewrite later, we'll see. - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 04:54:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14993234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredUngulate/pseuds/TiredUngulate
Summary: Ignis needs a break, so he takes one. Though this leads to some...complications in how he views his collegues.Title is the song by snow patrol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfa9yxCpWoA i like this song.





	Set The Fire To The Third Bar

Ignis Scientia was, by all accounts, a perfectionist. He worked tirelessly each day to ensure that any and all tasks performed by his hand were completed with the utmost accuracy and that the results were perfect. When things didn’t go perfectly, that is when problems would arise. The man would become quickly frustrated, slowly unravelling into a mess of nerves and frustration. Before he could completely unravel, he would excuse himself and isolate himself until the panic subsided. Today was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. Despite his best attempts at attending all his appointments and keeping to his schedule, his first meeting had ran much longer than expected, leading to a downward spiral of him arriving late to the rest of his meetings and appointments.

Once his first half of the day was over, he checked his schedule again, he felt the fatigue and pressure hit him at last, his best efforts to suppress the feeling of failure were being undone.  
He realised for him to get back on track, he would have to forgo lunch, despite desperately wanting to sit down and feel even a moment of relaxation, yet he knew he wouldn’t have the luxury. Noctis would be finishing school soon, and if Ignis wasn’t there to chauffeur the young prince around, he would most likely end up heading to an arcade or fast food restaurant and wasting the day away.  
Ignis checked his wristwatch, he had at least an hour before the Prince needed to be retrieved from school, most likely accompanied by his friend Prompto. Ignis knew the both of them would complain about being hungry as soon as they knew Ignis was within earshot. It didn’t take long for Ignis to get one step ahead and prepare them something to eat. He normally would have had time to indulge in lunch before heading to Noctis’ apartment and begin cooking, but today he knew he had no such luxury. He knew he could prepare enough for the three of them, but he would hate to have to deal with the shame of seeming so unprepared, he knew Noctis would ask questions, and if Noctis didn’t, Prompto certainly would. The last thing Ignis wanted to do was admit his schedule was too tight and didn’t allow for any form of breathing room if something were to go awry.

Ignis exhaled, audible enough for a few passer-by’s to give him a questioning glance, which only added to the man’s growing anxiety. He started to briskly walk to the parking lot and to his car, not many people would try stop Ignis to casually talk, especially when he had such a hostile composure, clearly not a man who wanted to be bothered by trivial things. If it weren’t for the fact his day had started badly, he would have been in a fairly better mood, but no. Now he was hungry, not looking forward having to cook for Noctis and Prompto in such a state, then to abandon the food temporarily to drive and ensure the boys didn’t go goofing off like they normally did when their supervision (Ignis) arrived late (which only happened once but, Ignis would never let himself live it down) and dreading having to ask Noctis if it were ok if he also ate with them. Prompto and Noctis were both used to spending some quality time together over a meal Ignis cooked, and Ignis was fairly certain the two were dating, and he didn’t want to take away any possible moments of intimacy from them. Who knew how long the two boys had before Noctis was expected to marry a woman and have children to carry on the Lucian line, and his possible relationship with Prompto would have to end. Even if there was nothing romantic going on between the two, at some point they are going to see less of each other and the burdens of being King will fall onto Noctis, and that alone can cause rifts in friendships. Not only that, but it was such a rare occasion now-a-days that Noctis expected the worst whenever Ignis sat to eat with them. Thinking back on it, the last time Ignis sat down to eat with Noctis had been two months ago, and it was because the King was too ill to have dinner with Noctis like originally planned, and Ignis was the one who had to pass on the bad news. Noctis was upset, and Ignis wasn’t about to leave his Prince alone for the night, so he sat with him, had dinner and ended up playing some video games (despite not being the first hobby Ignis would go to, he had to admit that they are addictive, and some friendly competition never hurt anyone…right?).  
As he went to go get into his car, a hand practically slammed down onto his shoulder, Ignis spun around and pulled a dagger that was concealed among his clothing, and angled it to where he assumed his attacker’s throat would be.  
“Calm down Specs, it’s only me.”  
Ignis didn’t let his guard down, he examined the man towering before him, once he realised it wasn’t some idiot off the streets making a shit attempt at robbing him, he let out a nervous laugh. He lowered and put away his weapons and forced himself to regain composure, he adjusted his glasses that were slightly out of place from spinning around. When he thought his day couldn’t get worse, he embarrassed himself in front of Gladiolus.  
“Gladiolus.” Ignis’ voice was shaky, much to the man’s dismay, “I would love to stay and talk but, I am behind schedule and would quite like to get on with my day.”  
Gladio smirked, “No problem Iggy, just wanted to make sure you were still on for our training session. You look exhausted, I won’t be offended if you cancel.”

Ignis scoffed, “Cowardice is unbecoming of the Shield to the future king.”

Gladio feigned being wounded, “Your words are almost as sharp as your daggers. Almost.” Ignis couldn’t help but smile, it was rare for him to partake in banter so casually without feeling strange or like he was trying too hard to remain jovial. Gladio patted Ignis’ back before walking off chucking to himself, Ignis watched for a moment, pleased with himself that not only did he have a friend in Gladio, but a friend he felt comfortable with that he never second guessed himself when joking.  
For a moment, Ignis’ stress disappeared, even though normally he would be severely aggravated by precious moments wasted on something so trivial, he truly enjoyed Gladio’s company. It didn’t take Ignis long to mentally prepare a list of ingredients he would need. A quick trip to the market, one that most likely broke records for fastest in and out of a market with all the ingredients one needs for a healthy lunch for three men, and time to spare to stop and quickly buy some cans of Ebony coffee. Anyone who was even slightly familiar with Ignis’ name, knew he was addicted to the stuff, and occasionally the joke would crop up that Ignis’ body ran with Ebony flowing through it, so if you were to cut him, the dark coffee would pour out instead. Ignis denies he’s addicted to the stuff. People can say or believe what they want, so long as Ignis was doing his job and so long as the King was pleased with his performance, he can rest easy.

Once arriving at Noctis’ apartment, he checked his wristwatch once more, he had half an hour to prepare the food, opting to make an omelette with plenty of vegetables and meats prepared so to ensure the prince got a good balanced meal, but also allowing for slight variations and changes to be made for individual tastes. Very few people had the keys to Noctis’ apartment, the list only consisted of Noctis himself, his father (Regis, the current king), Gladio and Ignis, they were the only people to be trusted with keys, though Ignis had a feeling Prompto was given a spare key at some point, but Ignis opted to keep his suspicions to himself, certain that Prompto would sooner swallow the key than allow it to fall into the wrong hands. Once in the door, Ignis left the car keys on a small table by the door, and carefully folded and draped his coat over one of the kitchen chairs. Next, Ignis ensured all the perishables were safely stored in the fridge, the cooking utensils he planned on using were properly laid out. The vegetables and meats were expertly cut into small pieces so not to ruin the consistency of the omelette, and to also allow for the meat to be properly cooked through faster. Satisfied with the preparation work, he washed up and quickly sent Noctis a text, “I will be collecting you after school. I have started the prep work for making omelettes, Prompto is of course free to join us also. On that note, I will be eating with you today.” He read over it a few times, considering whether or not to include the fact it was because he didn’t have time for lunch. In the end he opted not to, knowing it would only make Noctis feel guilty, which was far from his intentions. He sent the message, then grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed out the door, locking it once he stepped into the hallway. Once comfortably situated in the car, he checked his phone one more time while stifling back a yawn before driving off, Noctis had replied with a simple, “K Specs”, Ignis smiled for a brief moment, before quickly texting back, “No texting in class.” Before he could even set his phone down, another text came in from Noctis, “Nark.” Ignis chuckled, normally he wasn’t one to indulge the prince and allow him to get distracted in class, even if it was the end of the day, but in this occasion he couldn’t help but shoot one last text back.  
“Well. This nark will be sure to put plenty of vegetables in your omelette, unless he can be convinced otherwise.”

Ignis put his phone away, proud of himself for that remark. Noctis would know his threats were empty but, Ignis knew that the young prince wouldn’t risk texting him back, just in case this one time the threat was real.

Ignis arrived outside the school gates, he had 5 or so minutes to spare before the Prince would arrive. He took this moment to lean back, the car seat was comfortable and allowed for Ignis to feel safe as he closed his eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. He could have sworn he only closed his eyes for a minute, but when loud rapid knocks hit against the car window, Ignis jolted awake. He unlocked the car doors and quickly got out, he tried his best not to look too dishevelled but, ultimately failing. “Everything alright Iggy?” Ignis blinked a few times and realised it was Noctis talking to him, looking concerned for the man.  
“Yes. Apologies your highness, it seems I got-“ he paused, he didn’t want to admit he fell asleep, he knew he probably should tell Noctis the truth and allow him to drive but damn his pride would not allow it, “Distracted. Yes, I was distracted. Very busy day so far and an even busier day ahead.” He opened the back doors and ushered Noctis, and Prompto which he only realised was standing there too, clearly just as concerned.  
Ignis got into the front again and started driving, Noctis stayed quiet, watching, as Prompto excitedly talked about a new camera he was eyeing up and wanted to save for. Ignis made sure to listen to the one sided conversation, if it were anyone else, Ignis would assume it was a not-so-subtle attempt at trying to convince the prince to buy the item for them but, this was Prompto, and Ignis knew the boy to be extremely honest, and that the conversation taking place was one brought on by genuine excitement for the new camera. Ignis made a mental note to consider possibly helping Prompto out by sourcing some minor tasks to him, a possible assistant, even a temporary one would help prevent disasters like the ones that occurred today and he knew he could trust Prompto so he didn’t feel the need to vet him, though of course Ignis wouldn’t be giving him tasks that involved highly sensitive material anyways.  
Once back at the apartment, it wasn’t long before the boys were sitting on the sofa, playing away at their phones, deep in a conversation about whatever game they were playing. Ignis was finishing cooking the last omelette, the one for himself. He already gave Noctis and Prompto their share, which were half eaten already. Ignis noticed that Noctis had picked out some of the vegetables already, how he found them, Ignis would never know. He was sure he cut them up small enough to even escape Noctis’ eye, but apparently not. He opted to not start lecturing, frankly he was too tired to try start an argument with Noctis over the importance of vegetables in one’s diet. Ignis practically collapsed into the empty armchair, another thing he didn’t want to start a lecture about, not sitting at the dining table to eat, but if Ignis was being totally honest with himself, he knew the comfort of the armchair was too irresistible to pass up and the boys weren’t going to complain. He started delicately eating, zoning out to the conversation taking place, he didn’t need to exactly listen anyways.  
“What are your plans for today Ignis?” Prompto broke Ignis’ trance, there was a brief moment of silence before Prompto spoke up again, “Iggy?” Ignis looked up, he had apparently finished his food, and his plate was gone. Ignis stood up, “So far my schedule dictates I am to brief Noctis on today’s meeting, and then I am to tutor Noctis in whatever school subject he seems to be struggling the most in, though I could switch the two activities around, and you can stick around for the tutoring, if you and the prince are ok with that.” Ignis didn’t mind helping both of them, he sometimes found it easier, as they both seemed to struggle with similar things, so seeing another person struggling helped ease off the embarrassment, or so he theorised, and of course Ignis knew that they both looked up to him as some all-knowing being so having someone else in the room to bounce ideas and concept off that wasn’t Ignis was far from a bad thing. Though the all-knowing being idea was far from true, Ignis couldn’t help but feel quite a bit of pride that they thought that.  
In the end, Prompto took Ignis up on the offer, with encouragement from Noctis. The study session was filled with the usual going over notes, having the boys do some questions. While the boys were doing the questions Ignis prepared for them, Ignis decided to head to the kitchen area once more and prepared them both small cheesecakes that didn’t take much longer than 10 minutes to make. The boys never did take too long on the questions, they would much rather get back to gaming but, they knew Ignis’ wrath was one they certainly didn’t want upon them, so they always attempted to actually work hard. They also knew if they worked hard, they would get some form of sweet dessert from Ignis, which was honestly the only reason they ever did try. Today was no different, Ignis put down two small bowls and two spoons and then told them they were done for today. Noctis stretched and before he could open his mouth to suggest skipping over having the report of today’s meeting read to him, Ignis shut him down, “Noctis. You will be reading that report whether you like it or not. I didn’t spe-” his sentence was broken up by a yawn. Both Prompto and Noctis were looking at him, eyes wide in shock, Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose, and proceeded to rub at his eyes before speaking up again, “I am tired but I still have duties to do.” Another yawn threatened to emerge, but Ignis managed to suppress the urge. He glared back at the two boys, who were clearly concerned, “Listen Ignis, I’ll read the reports, but only if you get some rest. Did you sleep last night?” Noctis stood up and went to put his hand on Ignis’ shoulder, Ignis looked away, clearly frustrated with himself, “Thank you for the concern you Highness but, I slept enough to function.” Noctis rolled his eyes, clearly more annoyed now than anything, “You fell asleep while waiting for me in the car- something you’ve never done, then when eating you finished your food before practically falling asleep again! Prompto and I did the dishes, you need to rest Ignis, and you’re no good to me if you could drop from exhaustion at any minute.” Ignis kept his gaze averted, knowing Noctis was right, and frankly Ignis couldn’t disagree with anything said, hell he hadn’t even noticed the dishes were done. He was clearly out of his game right now and he knew that he was useless to Noctis in this state.  
“I’ll leave the reports here. Prompto, please ensure he reads them. Text me if you want anything explained.” Ignis turned on his heel to quickly leave the apartment, frankly too embarrassed to admit that he was exhausted, feeling overworked and he consumed so much caffeine it was affecting his ability to sleep. He hadn’t slept properly the last few weeks, and it was finally starting to show. Noctis stopped him before he could leave, “I’m driving, Ignis. You are a danger to others and yourself in this state.” Ignis nodded, finally admitting he was exhausted only made it worse, he wanted to just curl up then and there. “Ignis, you should take a few days off, to rest up, someone else can manage the reports and give them to you, I know you will go stir crazy without something to do so, you can still work, just from at home, and with a reasonable bedtime.” Ignis nodded again, he would rather not speak, for his voice would betray not only the embarrassment he felt, but frankly the pride that swelled up in him, Noctis was taking responsibility for something, but the fact it was him only brought shame as well. He knew he shouldn’t overwork himself and yet, he did it day in and day out.  
The car journey consisted of Noctis and Prompto sitting in the front, and Ignis in the backseat, his face red with embarrassment, he knew neither of the boys would tease him over this, but the fact the crown prince was driving his car, to ensure he got home safely instead of the other way around was almost too much to bear. Though there was a Crownsguard tailing them to drive the boys back to Noctis’ apartment, so Ignis didn’t have to worry about them both getting home safely. Then they followed Ignis to his apartment, he knew this wasn’t to ensure he got there safely, the boys were curious to see what Ignis Scientia’s private quarters looked like. Before Ignis chased the boys off, he bowed, “Noctis, thank you. I don’t have the words to fully show my gratitude but, you really didn’t need to do all of this.” Ignis spoke softly, clearly hating the fact he was too weak, too imperfect to manage one day without it turning into a disaster. Noctis scoffed, “Seriously Specs? You’re like a mother to me,” Noctis paused, trying not to laugh, Ignis appreciated the attempt to lighten the mood slightly, “you take me to and from school, provide me with lunches, ensure I eat properly and you then make sure to privately tutor me? This is the least I can do. Now go sleep. I will personally see to it someone replaces you this week.” Ignis stood up straight, “Week?” Noctis shot him a glare before Ignis could attempt to argue, “Yes. Week. Now go to bed, seriously.” Ignis wanted to respond, to tell him that he was only doing his job, he didn’t need thanks or anything else but, he knew when Noctis actually took responsibility and took charge, it was something Ignis didn’t want to actively discourage, and so going with it was probably for the best. Ignis smiled, “Finally acting like the King you’re eventually going to be?” Noctis rolled his eyes, and shrugged, Ignis waved them off, and before they were out of earshot, “I will still be training with Gladio.” Noctis waved him off in a nonchalant demeanour, “Deal now go to fucking bed.”  
Ignis opted to not tell the prince to watch his language, instead he closed and locked his door, threw his jacket onto the coat hanger, not even entirely sure it was on it. His apartment was decently sized, mostly cream and grey tones on the walls, a small kitchen area with a dining area situated to the left of the apartment, then to the right consisted of the living area and multiple bookshelves, a brown leather sofa and large matching armchair sat around a dark coloured coffee table, a modestly sized television placed a bit of a distance away. A dark wood door lead to the bedroom, which consisted only of his bed, a wardrobe and a desk with where his laptop would sit. He had a comfortable chair lined up so he could sit in his room and work if he was feeling under the weather and couldn’t leave his home. Most expected him to have a working area out of his bedroom but, he enjoyed the comfort it brought him, and the work area was often a complete mess (at least in his eyes) with reports and other sensitive materials, he felt they were safer behind another door. He fetched his phone out of his pocket, messaged Gladio saying their training for today would have to be cancelled, he then went and ensured the rest of his appointments knew he would not be attending. Luckily they were mostly ones he didn’t need to actually go to and make notes of, seeing there was always someone transcribing the meeting. He would have the notes later passed onto Noctis to read. He got a few immediate responses telling him not to worry about being unable to attend. He placed his phone on the coffee table, then headed towards his bedroom.  
Ignis swiftly changed into his pyjamas, enjoying the comfort being home and not having any responsibilities for the rest of the night. Bar feeding himself, which he somehow managed to forget. He opted that he’d order something later, for now he was going to read to pass the time, and hopefully not fall asleep. It was a little too early to sleep. He picked up a book that Gladio gave him, Ignis was never entirely sure what Gladio’s specific taste in books was, he seemed to read everything from old romance novels to philosophy. This book seemed to be one of the old romance novels, though normally not to Ignis’ exact taste, he thought he’d still give it a try. Ignis sat the book on the coffee table, opting to make himself some green tea before bunkering down. He returned to the chair, placed the tea down as he draped an old, yet comfortable red throw blanket over himself. He felt safe and warm, almost a bit relaxed. He went to go pick up his tea and book when his phone started ringing, he cussed it out before checking to see who was calling him. He saw it was Gladio, now he felt guilty about being so frustrated.  
“Hey, it’s not like you to suddenly back out of training.” Gladio started right off the bat, Ignis barely had time to say hello.  
“Hello to you too. Noctis’ orders, I will be attending training for the rest of the week. I am worried about Noctis remembering to ensure someone else can cover me for the week, so if you could check in on him and give me updates, it’d be appreciated. On that note, I will have extra time now that I’m temporarily relieved from my duties for the week, so I can train a bit more.”  
There was silence for a moment, Ignis could practically hear Gladio roll his eyes and shake his head, “Listen Ignis, if you need to rest, then rest. Don’t push yourself to come to training and make yourself worse. Don’t worry about Noct, I’ll make sure someone is able to cover the meetings and reports, though we both know he’s going to end up goofing off a bit more this week.”

“Gladiolus. I know. I will be careful, what’s a few extra sparring sessions going to do? Frankly they’re a good way to de-stress so, I will not be backing down on this matter so easily. Make sure Noctis and Prompto have some more training this week also, to ensure that they don’t goof off entirely and regret only eating burgers.”

Gladio laughed, “Alright, you got me there. If you need me to go-“ Before he could finish, Ignis cut him off, “I swear to the Six, if you even so much as suggest going easy on me, I will never forgive you.”  
“Fuck Ignis, point taken! I’ll make sure the brats don’t get too out of line this week, Gods know what they’d be up to if you didn’t make sure they were on the straight and narrow.”  
Ignis smiled, “Thanks Gladio. I will see you tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow it is. Now rest up, I expect you at your best.” Gladio hung up before Ignis could say a proper farewell but, he knew it was to keep them both off the line. They had a habit of taking too long to hang up on each other, so they both came to an agreement when the conversation at hand was clearly over, one of them needed to end it before another one could arise, unless there were multiple serious issues at hand but, they both could tell whenever that was the case simply by the sound of each other’s voice.  
Ignis curled up a bit further into the chair, putting his phone on silent and placing it on the armrest. He only leaned forward to pick up his book and tea, then spent the rest of the day reading, only stopping to order from a local restaurant that did deliveries. He finished his meal, then another chapter of the book before deciding he really needed to sleep. As soon as he got into his bedroom, and his head hit the pillow, he immediately fell asleep, clearly his body was not pleased with the constant stress and work he forced it through. His brain most likely even worse off considering how much time he spent simply thinking, never truly having a proper break, but now he had a moment to relax, his body took full advantage and forced him into a deep sleep that hopefully wouldn’t be disturbed until morning.


End file.
